Crane towers and the like hoisting apparatus



P. DURAND 3,407,559

CRANE TOWERS AND THE LIKE HOISTING APPARATUS Oct. 29, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1965 INVENTOR 1 /52:: A024 AID JAM az ronuzvs Oct. 29 1968 P DU RAND 3,407,559 I CRANE TOWERS AND THE LIKE HOISTING APPARATUS Filed on. 24, 1965 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR P1502: buenwo BY ATTORNEYS- United States Patent Ofice 3,407,559 CRANE TOWERS AND THE LIKE HOISTING APPARATUS Pierre Durand, Faurax, Lyons, France, assignor to Richier (Societe Anonyme), Paris, France Filed Oct. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 504,368

Claims priority, applicagizgsl rance, Feb. 23, 1965,

3 Claims. (c1. 52-637) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE My invention has for its object towers for cranes and the like hoisting apparatus which towers are disconnectable while their height may be increased through incorporation of sections which after their assembly, form a rigid structure with the other sections. Said sections constituted by ribs, stays and cross-members define generally four flat sides or panels which are assembled with each other along the edges of the tower.

For the execution of such panels, various methods have been resorted to hitherto and of these methods, those which are most used are the two following:

The first one consists in forming each panel by two half ribs connected by cross-braces and cross-members.

The other known method consists in forming each panel by a rib carrying on one side, the stays and crossmembers corresponding to said panel and secured to the rib forming part of the adjacent panel, while the other side is provided with fittings to which are secured the cross braces and cross-members of the other adjacent panel.

Said prior methods have the drawback of a large bulk, when the tower is dismantled, since the breadth of the dismantled tower is equal to the breadth of its sides and this is a particularly important drawback for towers having a large cross-section and wherein the breadth of the sides is greater than that of the road gauge permitted by regulations. Furthermore, the panels formed by such flat systems lack rigidity and are thus often subjected to damage during transportation.

My invention eliminates these drawbacks and it comprises, for this purpose, a tower or mast for a crane or the like hoisting apparatus wherein the component sections are formed by dihedrals which are directly or indirectly interconnected while their number is equal to that of the sides of the tower or of the mast, each side of the dihedral having a breadth equal to one half of that of the sides of the tower.

Through this arrangement, the bulk of the tower or mast when collapsed is considerably reduced, since the bulk of each dihedral, breadthwise, is substantially equal to one half of the breadth of the tower sides. It should be noted furthermore that if the breadth of the sections thus formed is still too great, it is possible to reduce it by inserting between the two dihedrals incorporated with each side an intermediate element designed in any suitable manner and possibly including one or more ribs, cross-braces and/or cross-members.

My invention will be well understood from the reading of the following description, reference being made to 3,407,559 Patented Oct. 29, 1968 the accompanying highly diagrammatic drawings illustrating by way of example and in a non-limiting sense various embodiments of a crane tower according to my invention. In said drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevational side view of the crane;

FIGS. 2 and 3 show, on an enlarged scale, respectively in horizontal sectional and in perspective view a portion of the tower forming part of said crane;

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of a crane of which the tower has a triangular cross-section;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are larger scale views respectively in elevational side view and from above of one of the dihedrals forming the tower illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3;

FIG. 7 is a horizontal sectional view the section line being shown at VII-VII in FIG. 5

FIGS. 8 to 14 show the possibilities of storing a tower in a collapsed position.

FIG. 1 shows a crane of the type wherein the tower is constituted by two coaxial masts, the inner mast carrying the jib and being adapted to slide inside the outer mast which is in the shape of a cage and the height of which may be increased through superposition of identical sections.

My invention has for its object the execution of the two masts of such a crane, each mast being constituted by superposed sections forming rigid structures obtained each through an assembly of dihedrals.

In fact, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, each element forming part of the structure of the two masts of the tower is constituted by rib members 2, cross-members 3 and crossbraces 4 which define together four dihedrals respectively at A, B, C, D. The cross-braces and crossmembers of the successive dihedrals are connected along the cooperating edges of the dihedrals at w, b, c, a, e, f, and the cages formed through the assembly of four such dihedrals are superposed and interconnected as shown at g, h, i, and Means (not shown) thus interconnect the cooperating ends of the cross-members and crossbraces in the successive dihedrals of each section.

Obviously, the number and cross-sectional outline of the dihedrals forming each cage of the tower depends on the cross-sectional outline desired for the mast to be executed. Thus, instead of resorting to four dihedrals with a view to executing a mast of a rectangular crosssection, I may use three dihedrals for executing a mast of triangular cross-section, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

The ribs 2 forming part of the composition of each dihedral are advantageously constituted by two angle bars welded together so as to form a closed caissonshaped tubular member. Said angle bars may be given the same thickness or different thicknesses in the successive sections, so as to obtain for a same tower ribs of decreasing cross-sections while their strength is sufi'icient for withstanding the stresses exerted on them. When assembling two superposed sections, their ribs are fished together by inner cores 5 and pins 6 (FIGS. 5 and 7).

The oblique cross-braces 4 and the cross-members 3 forming together with the ribs 2 each dihedral are constituted by shaped members which are welded, on the one hand to the rib 2 and on the other hand to the vertical terminal plates 7. By reason of its execution by means of individual parts in the shape of dihedrals, the tower of the crane or each mast of the crane or the like hoisting appliance shows the considerable advantage of a restricted bulk when dismantled. The dihedrals have, as a matter of fact, a breadth which is equal to one half of the breadth of the tower or of the mast and these dihedrals may be fitted inside one another or superposed, according to various arrangements such as those illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 14 wherein 8 designates the ladders or the like elements forming part of the crane which 3 I may be housed inside the arrangement formed by the towerin its collapsed position.

Obviously, my invention is by no means limited to the embodiments described and illustrated and it covers in contradistinction all the modifications falling within the scope of the accompanying claims.

What I claim is:

1. A polygonal mast for a hoisting appliance, comprising at least one section including a number of dihedral structures equal to the number of sides of the mast and forming the corners of the mast and detachably interconnected to each other at points spaced substantial distances from each corner of the mast, each dihedral extending along the sides of the mast a horizontal distance no more than about half the width of the associated side of the mast.

2. A polygonal mast for a hoisting appliance, comprising superposed assembled sections including each a number of dihedral structures equal to the number of sides of the mast and constituted by ribs forming the corners of the mast and by cross-members and crossbraces, each side of each dihedral extending over sub stantially one half of the corresponding side of the mast and being-detachably interconnected at its ends with the horizontally adjacent dihedrals.

3. A polygonal mast for a hoisting appliance, comprising superposed assembled sections including each a number of dihedral structures equal to the number of sides of the mast and constituted by ribs forming'the corners of the mastand by cross-members and cross-braces, each side of thedihedral structure extending over no more than half of the corresponding side of the mast, and intermediate flat structures detachably. interconnecting the cooperating ends of the cross-members and cross-braces in the successive dihedrals of each section.

I References Cited 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner.

R. D. KRAUS, Assistant Examiner. 

